Leonardo DiCaprio: Modern Day Romeo - Softcover

This excerpt highlights Leonardo DiCaprio's experience as an Academy Award nominee for his portrayal of Arnie in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
The Academy Awards were difficult for Leonardo.  He's always had a problem with speaking in front of big audiences.  "I worried that I would slip up or do something horrible," he says.  "Or cry, something that's embarrassing.  I put that pressure on myself."

Then came the big night.  He arrived at the ceremonies with his mother, father, and stepmother.  "I was so nervous my palms started to sweat, and I just started to twitch," he says.  "When I got to the awards, people were telling me, `You know, you have a pretty good chance of winning tonight.' And this thing started to consume me.  I was shaking in my seat and putting on this posed smile, and, inside I was petrified."

The show started, but that didn't calm Leonardo down.  What made matters worse was that his mother got up to go to the rest room right before his category was read and couldn't get back in.  "I'm sitting there and they said, `Okay, the nominees for Best Supporting Actor are --' and my mom wasn't there!  And I knew if my mom wasn't there, it would be terrible.  I saw this guard holding my mom back.  She was trying to jump through a bunch of people, and they showed the first nominee and said, Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive."

"I knew I had to do something.  My mom had to be next to me.  So I turned to the security guards and I mouthed, `Let her in.' The guy looked at me, and I said, `I'm a nominee.'  I never do that kind of thing, but I figured this was really important.  And my mom just scooted by and jumped in the seat and in five seconds she adjusted herself, I adjusted myself, and I was sitting there with this smile on my face like nothing had happened.  Meanwhile, I'm about ready to die.  When they announced Tommy Lee Jones had won, I wanted to get down on the ground and thank God.  Nobody was happier for him than me, that's the truth.